Ever since being fortunate enough to gain a formal qualification as a carpenter & joiner whilst serving with the army (the other option was a posting to the Falkland Islands), the ability to make useful things from wood has been an ever-present factor in almost everything I do.

After leaving the army in 1997, I helped set up a small furniture workshop near Warminster, which led me to take on a supervisor role at a busier workshop and then eventually start up on my own making bespoke furniture, mainly using reclaimed wood and focussing on a rustic, country cottage style. By this time, my wife and I were living in and sympathetically renovating a 400-year-old cottage in the Wiltshire countryside. Old houses, with low beams, creaky doors and an open fire burning in the grate always held a strong attraction for me (no doubt, inspired by memorable childhood visits to see the reconstructed buildings at the Weald & Downland open air museum) however, more than that, the still visible tool marks made by local craftsmen centuries before served as a tangible reminder of a time when many people lived closer to nature, hand crafting their everyday needs and even their homes from the surrounding countryside. I tried my best to emulate their ingenuity and self-reliant spirit, by learning how to do the same, making frequent trips to the local woods for 'supplies’.